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1987 British Grand Prix
12 July |number = 443 |officialname = XL Shell Oils British Grand Prix |circuit = Silverstone Circuit |location = Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 4.778 |laps = 65 |distance = 310.570 |pole = Nelson Piquet |polenation = BRA-1968 |poleteam = |poletime = 1:07.110 |fastestlap = 1:09.832 |fastestlapdriver = Nigel Mansell |fastestlapnation = GBR |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 58 |winner = Nigel Mansell |winnernation = GBR |winnerteam = |second = Nelson Piquet |secondnation = BRA-1968 |secondteam = |third = Ayrton Senna |thirdnation = BRA-1968 |thirdteam = }} The XL Shell Oils British Grand Prix, otherwise known as the 1987 British Grand Prix, was the seventh round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged on the 12 July 1987 at a revised Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, UK.'British GP, 1987', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr443.html, (Accessed 02/04/2019) The race would be one of the most famed of Nigel Mansell's career, with the Brit hunting down teammate Nelson Piquet in the closing stages to claim victory. Qualifying would see the two s duel for pole position, with Piquet emerging ahead of Mansell by less than a tenth of a second. Championship leader Ayrton Senna was best of the rest for , while Alain Prost claimed fourth for . Race morning saw confirmation that Piercarlo Ghinzani had been excluded from qualifying and hence unable to start, the result of a series of infringements during the first session. Otherwise, the rest of the 25 strong field would take the start, with no issues during the formation lap. The start of the race was also clean, although there was a shock when Prost screamed past the two Williams into Copse to claim the lead. Piquet, meanwhile, would remain ahead of Mansell, while Senna was left to fend off Thierry Boutsen and Teo Fabi on the opening lap. Ultimately Prost's hopes of victory were over midway through the first lap, for he was to be mugged by both Piquet and Mansell at Stowe. With that the Williams-Hondas simply disappeared from the rest of the field, leaving Prost in an increasingly lonely third as he eased away from Senna. The two Williams would exchange blows for the rest of the afternoon, although a gap did eventually appear between them after the stops. Indeed, it was only the closing stages that Mansell finally got back on terms with Piquet, the Brazilian having to ease off to conserve fuel. With three laps to go Mansell made his bid for the lead, sending his Williams lunging inside his teammate at the near flat-out Stowe. The pair almost brushed tyres as Mansell slithered ahead, before easing ahead over the final couple of laps amid the roars of his home fans. Mansell duly came home first, two seconds clear of Piquet, to claim victory, but would run out of fuel on the slowing down lap. Behind, a clutch issue for Prost would promote Senna onto the podium late on, with Satoru Nakajima, Derek Warwick and Fabi claiming the rest of the points. The results of the race meant that Senna had retained the lead in the Championship, although he now had two drivers within a point of him. Indeed, Mansell and teammate Piquet had moved onto 30 points, the Brit ahead courtesy of his three wins, while Prost slipped to fourth, five off the lead. Background Ayrton Senna had retained the lead in the Championship hunt after the French Grand Prix, although he had left France just a point ahead of second placed Alain Prost. Nelson Piquet was next, just two further back, while Nigel Mansell's victory had shot him back into contention, six off the leader. Stefan Johansson, meanwhile, appeared to have already fallen out of the fight after just six races, although he held onto his top five status ahead of Gerhard Berger. In the Constructors' Championship it was advantage after the battle of Le Castellet, leaving France six ahead of former leaders . The Anglo-German squad had done enough to remain in the fight however, with having lost ground in third. had also lost ground in their lonely fourth place position, while had joined and on four points in fifth. Philippe Streiff had moved back within three points of teammate Jonathan Palmer at the head of the Jim Clark Trophy chase in France, and hence moved back ahead of compatriot Pascal Fabre. Philippe Alliot and Ivan Capelli were the only other scorers in the Cup after the opening six races, while continued to dominate the Colin Chapman Trophy after another one-two. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: * Entries with a white background denote eligibility for the Jim Clark Trophy and Colin Chapman Trophy. Practice Overview Qualifying Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: * A white background indicates an entrant in the Jim Clark Trophy. *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Ghinzani was excluded from the rest of the weekend after illegally refuelling on the circuit. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: * A white background indicates an entrant in the Jim Clark Trophy with numbers in brackets indicating their finishing position in that class. *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Brundle was unable to be classified as he failed to complete 90% of the race distance. *† Ghinzani was excluded from the weekend after being illegally refuelled during qualifying. Milestones * 100th Grand Prix entry for Nigel Mansell.'1987 British GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1987&gp=British%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 03/04/2019) * 25th entry for Christian Danner. * Tenth career victory for Mansell.'7. Britain 1987', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1987/grande-bretagne.aspx, (Accessed 03/04/2019) ** Mansell also claimed his twentieth podium finish. * claimed their 34th win as a constructor. ** claimed their 21st victory as an engine supplier. * Nelson Piquet set a new record of consecutive second place finishes - 4. Standings Ayrton Senna retained the lead in the Championship with his podium finish, although he now had two, rather than one, driver within a point of him. Indeed, Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet were level on 30 points to the Brazilian's 31, with Mansell ahead of his teammate courtesy of his three wins. Alain Prost, meanwhile, had lost ground as he dropped to fourth, although he was still within five points of Senna. , meanwhile, extended their lead in the Constructors' Championship, having scored their second consecutive one-two. were still their closest challengers, although their failure to score meant that were just two behind them in third. Indeed, with 39 points to Lotus' 37, it seemed likely that the Anglo-German squad were in a fight for second, with Williams-Honda out of immediate reach on 60. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. Jim Clark/Colin Chapman Trophy Jonathan Palmer extended his lead in the Jim Clark Trophy on home soil, with his tally of 42 leaving him ten clear of his nearest challenger. That challenger appeared in the form of Pascal Fabre, while Palmer's teammate Philippe Streiff slipped to third. In the Colin Chapman Trophy, meanwhile, had again extended their lead, leaving the home race 40 clear of . Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1987 Grands Prix Category:British Grand Prix Category:Formula One races in the United Kingdom